News & Opinions

2023 SRA Summer Race Series Recap & Awards!

2023 SRA Summer Race Series Recap & Awards!

August 23, 2023 - After six races at three different tracks, in cars ranging from Legends to LMP2s, we have a winner! In fact, many winners, as everyone had fun and learned to be even better sim racers. Overall, the goal of the Summer Series was to provide a fun...

How Racers Are Simulating Their Way To Success

We all know how simulation in real-world racing is critical for race teams, and this article from Racer.com provides a good glimpse into how NASCAR teams use it, as well as how up-and-coming race engineers use sim racing to prepare for careers in F1. How Racers Are...

Sim Racing: The Ideal Gateway to Real-Life Racing

While I continue to champion the cause that sim racing is an ideal path to real-life racing, I am going to tone down the hard sell. Instead, I will just continue to bring you examples of sim racers who have started to race IRL (in real life). This week continues that...

The Potential of Apple Vision Pro in Sim Racing

What is the potential of Apple Vision Pro to the future of Sim Racing? A critical one according to this week’s edition of the Sim Racing Roundup. I also bring you more news on the potentially ground-breaking sim racing to real world motorsports program Racing Prodigy,...

After Years of Unavailability, a New Haptic Sim Pad is Here!

After Years of Unavailability, a New Haptic Sim Pad is Here!

Next Level Racing has released a new haptic pad for simulators and there’s been no way to get non-used haptic seat pad for the last 3-4 years. Haptic rumble pads can offer numerous benefits for sim racing enthusiasts. The force feedback provided by these devices can create a much more immersive racing experience by simulating the sensation of driving on different surfaces or feeling the rumble strips. The increased immersion can lead to a more enjoyable and realistic experience for the driver.

How Does iRacing’s New Rewind Feature Active Reset Work?

How Does iRacing’s New Rewind Feature Active Reset Work?

The new Active Reset function in iRacing is among the best new additions to the new release for Season 1 of 2023. Active Reset allows a driver to reset their car to a specific location on the track during a race session. This can be useful if the driver has gone off track or has suffered damage that makes it difficult to continue driving. For many years, returning to one’s pit stall was the only reset available to iRacers. Racing enthusiasts can now select specific locations on any circuit in the simulation to return to repeatedly, at least in single player test drive.

F1 World Champion Max Verstappen Claims Sim Racing has Helped Career

F1 World Champion Max Verstappen Claims Sim Racing has Helped Career

In an interview with ex-F1 driver David Coulthard for CarNext.com, newly crowned Formula One World Champion Max Verstappen mentioned his fondness for sim racing. During the conversation, Coulthard asks Verstappen about how he copes with the pressures of an F1 race weekend, and what hobbies he enjoys away from the track. Verstappen responds instantly with “Sim racing!”

Just Released: How to Win at Sim Racing eBook

Just Released: How to Win at Sim Racing eBook

“After over four decades of instructing and coaching real-world drivers, and the past decade of coaching sim racers, I’ve put together what I believe is the most important foundational information to help sim racers win more often,” says Ross Bentley, the author of the Speed Secrets series of books – the most popular race driving books ever. “Of course, ‘winning’ can mean different things to different racers, from outright victories to simply having more fun. But what practically all sim racers want is to improve – to see progression in their driving performance. That’s why I wrote the How to Win at Sim Racing eBook – because I’ve seen many common factors that are holding sim racers back from being even better.”

Beginner’s Sim Racing Kit List

Beginner’s Sim Racing Kit List

If you're new to sim racing, or simply thinking about getting into the sport, it's a huge challenge to sort through all the options of software and hardware. Console or PC? Monitors or VR? iRacing, ACC, Gran Turismo, Forza? Pedals, steering wheel, chassis? Ahhhh! it's...

SimCube Releases Force Feedback Active Pedals

SimCube Releases Force Feedback Active Pedals

Create the pedal feel you’ve always wanted with the new set of sim-racing pedals from SimCube. With the SimCube Active Pedal you can customize brake pressure up to 150kg, pedal travel distance, brake air gap, ABS, traction control, and other effects. Since the SimCube Active Pedal lacks springs or elastomers, changes for travel, sensitivity, brake hardness, different points of clutch bite, and other factors will be made electronically.

Asetek SimSports New Pagani Huayra R Replica Pedals

Asetek SimSports New Pagani Huayra R Replica Pedals

Asetek SimSports, a leading manufacturer of high-end sim racing equipment, partnered with Pagani Automobili, known for building legendary super & hypercars, to create a brand-new set of sim racing pedals that are modeled after those used in the rare Huayra R. Asetek SimSports worked with Pagani to produce an almost exact reproduction of the Huayra R’s beautiful art-deco pedal box.

Sim Racer Goes to Thunderhill Raceway Park IRL

Sim Racer Goes to Thunderhill Raceway Park IRL

Racing requires commitment, and anything less than 100% commitment is the wrong approach. You need to push all outside distractions away because they are taking your energy and your mental stamina. An old coach of mine used to say “don’t be betwixed and between.” It was a way to say – If you are not sure, bad outcomes are more likely. A better approach is to “Play Fast” – to See and React. Easier said than done when you are entering a corner at triple digits.

Charles Leclerc Says Sims May Be Tougher Than Real Life

Charles Leclerc Says Sims May Be Tougher Than Real Life

Charles Leclerc was recently asked to give his opinion on the realism of racing simulators and said  “I believe it’s maybe even tougher than real life.” 

“Because we have the feelings of the car in real life,” he explained. “Here it’s a lot more mental. We are sitting on a chair so there is not even the G-force we have on a real car. But I’m sweating like crazy. The muscles are not hurting but the concentration and everything I’ve been sweating a lot and it’s very hard. Unbelievably hard.”

Sim Racing Academy Member Wins Real Life Le Mans

Sim Racing Academy Member Wins Real Life Le Mans

Sim Racer Academy member Steven Thomas, along with his Algarve Pro Racing co-drivers James Allen and Rene Binder, won the LMP2 Pro-Am class at this year’s Le Mans 24-Hour race. This is an especially remarkable achievement: Thomas hadn’t driven any kind of car on any type of track 3.5 years ago! He credits the use of a simulator a key to his success.

Damon Hill Suggests Simulators Give Young F1 Drivers the Advantage

Damon Hill Suggests Simulators Give Young F1 Drivers the Advantage

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, the 1996 world champion said: “I wonder whether there’s something about that nature of Formula 1 these days which is helping a younger generation of drivers, because I think they’ve been used to playing computer games. And I think there’s something about the way the cars can be driven. Using different parts of the brain. It’s more to do with the signals they’re getting are more eye to hand, rather than through the seat of their pants, they’re able to respond to what they’re seeing.”

Codemasters Bringing VR to F1 2022

Codemasters Bringing VR to F1 2022

Codemasters has added VR compatibility to the PC version of F1 22. “No VR, No Buy” has been the rallying cry of many sim racing fans when it comes to any racing title. This is the first F1 game to support VR but Codemasters has a history of VR-compatible titles, including Project Cars, the Dirt Rally series, and Toybox Turbos. F1 2020 and F1 2021 were also produced by the Codemasters team based in the United Kingdom.

Ricciardo Embraces Sim Racing as a Training Tool

Ricciardo Embraces Sim Racing as a Training Tool

“We’ve seen some sim racers transfer into real race cars, and actually show promise and talent and skill. I don’t disregard them like they are just kind of couch potatoes playing at home. I think there’s definitely some real skill and effort put into it. So I certainly respect it and I’ll be honest, it has surprised me how good they can be. But the big question is the fear. Can they put the fear aside and know that, OK will that wall hurt or whatever? But from a skill point of view, it’s pretty impressive.”

With College Graduation Looming, Pro Sim Racer Ponders Retirement

With College Graduation Looming, Pro Sim Racer Ponders Retirement

In sim racing, the word “retirement” has a different meaning than it has in real life. Because so many of sim racings top drivers are still in high school or college, their retirement from the competition is usually simply a step towards adulthood. Another competitor Nathan Lyon, a former Roush Fenway Racing eNASCAR driver, retired at the end of last season to pursue further schooling and prepare for a more traditional career.

Porsche Welcomes New Works Drivers – The Porsche Coanda eSports Racing Team

Porsche Welcomes New Works Drivers – The Porsche Coanda eSports Racing Team

Every decade, Porsche drivers make history. Now Porsche welcomes the new Porsche Works Drivers as they write the next chapter of our motorsport legacy. The team itself has been given a new name – the Porsche Coanda eSports Racing Team. The lineup has collected wins and championships at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual, VRS GT iRacing World Championship, Porsche eSports Supercup, and eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series.

Sim Racing Tips for Brand New Beginners

Sim Racing Tips for Brand New Beginners

Sim Racing is about constantly improving. It’s about controlling your car and taking into account a lot of parameters that you are not thinking about in an arcade racing game, like how much heat/wear you are putting into your tires, racing clean, and not taking dumb risks that will cost you the race.

“To finish first, first you must finish” – Michael Schumacher

Could Rain Be Coming to iRacing in 2022?

Could Rain Be Coming to iRacing in 2022?

In both SimRacing and real-world motorsports, unpredictable weather is a huge factor to wheel to wheel fun! There is no set date for the introduction of wet weather racing but based on development cycle estimates, the update could be ready to launch this summer in 2022. The anticipation of rain in iRacing spurred a bunch of adjustments to the track model all the way back in 2019. This means that wet weather racing development could actually have been started all the way back in 2018.

What Sim Racers can Learn from Real-World Racers: How to Practice

What Sim Racers can Learn from Real-World Racers: How to Practice

The approach to driver development is a major difference between sim and real-world racers. This article focuses on how sim racers can learn from real-world racers about driver development, and about how to practice. In other words, how to improve more, in less time.

Equipment Guide: Sim Racing Shifters

Equipment Guide: Sim Racing Shifters

Almost every detachable sim racing rim and consumer wheel has paddle shifters, but when it comes to tricking your brain into thinking you’re actually in a car, standalone USB shifters add immersion. Nothing connects you to your sim like an H pattern shifter with a...

Equipment Guide: Sim Racing Pedals

Equipment Guide: Sim Racing Pedals

Everybody focuses on the wheel, but I’m here to tell you to start a bit lower. Far and away the most important racing sim purchase that you’re going to make will be a simulator pedal set. You want components that replicate the tactile sensations of a sport that’s...

Jarno Opmeer’s Keys to Sim Racing Success

Jarno Opmeer’s Keys to Sim Racing Success

Recently the Traxion.GG Podcast interviewed Jarno Opmeer, one of the world’s fastest sim racers. These days he’s completely focused on sim racing and he also has a large following online as a sim racing content creator. The Traxion.gg recent interview touches on his triumphs, his current season, and what it takes to compete at the top level of sim racing.

Equipment Guide: Sim Racing Wheel Bases & Steering Systems

Equipment Guide: Sim Racing Wheel Bases & Steering Systems

Simulator Steering Systems use three different technologies, gears, belts and direct drive, that provide increasing precision, feedback and torque. A gear driven force feedback wheel will serve most new racers well for a year or two. Belt driven wheels are a a bit...

Sim Racer’s First Win in Real Life Wheel to Wheel Race

Sim Racer’s First Win in Real Life Wheel to Wheel Race

Racers belong to a special fraternity because we know the blood, sweat, tears (and balls) involved to go wheel to wheel. From the simulator, to autocross to HPDE, it’s our secret. It’s something that most will never comprehend. Something that we can’t really describe to those who are outside our world. Try describing why you love racing to a non-racing family member or friend and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

Sim Racer’s First Real Life Night Stint & 24 Hours Race

Sim Racer’s First Real Life Night Stint & 24 Hours Race

24 hours. It’s a long and short amount of time. It seemed to drag the first 8 hours. But then it seemed to blink by faster and faster. 8 becomes 10. 10 becomes 12 and you’re half way there. That’s a scary moment. Halfway. Now the brakes are so hot you could fry an egg on them, or your skin if you get complacent. From one driver change to the next. From one problem to finding a solution to the next. Sleep. Sleep was hard to come by. Imagine trying to sleep in a tent next to an airplane runway.

Sim Racer’s First Real Life Race at New Track

Sim Racer’s First Real Life Race at New Track

Unlike my first races at Pacific Raceways, I had never done a track-day or even walked the Ridge before I showed up to race. That unknown element made we want to prepare so I found a version of the Ridge in rFactor 2 and practiced as much as possible to try and get a feel for each turn. I also watched a lot of video of an open wheel car lapping so that I could get a clear view of the track undulations and try to formulate my plan of attack.

Sim Racer Learns from Second Real Life Race

Sim Racer Learns from Second Real Life Race

My second race on Sunday was in some ways better than the first, but the result was not as good. The nice thing was the track was not nearly as wet and the team already had one race under the belt so the stress levels were much lower when I arrived in the morning. Everything felt more familiar and my suit was fitting better; maybe I lost a few pounds over the course of the past few days! The Covid quarantine has not been kind to my mid-section so I can only hope…

What Happens When Sim Racer Goes Wheel to Wheel in Real Life?

What Happens When Sim Racer Goes Wheel to Wheel in Real Life?

Did my simulator training help me in the real race? The short answer is yes. I was able to lean on the muscle memory I’ve developed over years of sim racing. I was able to stay calm and keep focused. Simracing also really helped my ability to assess risk of certain passes and dicey situations when going wheel to wheel. Multiple cars wrecked in front of me and each time I sensed the danger seconds before the actual incident occurred. I directly credit iRacing and all the aggressive drivers you encounter there to help develop the ability to assess risk/reward on the fly!

What Happens When a Sim Racer Goes to Real World Racing School?

What Happens When a Sim Racer Goes to Real World Racing School?

Sim Racing has it’s advantages. I can’t afford a real life F1 car, limited edition Ferrari, LMP1, or anything close to it. With Sim Racing, I have the ability to put cars and tracks together that would be nearly impossible to recreate in real life. Also, crashes don’t injure you or cost big bucks to repair. I don’t have to pay for expensive fuel, tires, brake pads, HPDE insurance or track rental fees. Sim racing provides extremely cheap seat time which has made it explode from a niche hobby to a “must have” training tool today. 

iRacing’s Growing Influence on Driver Development

iRacing is having a growing influence on driver development and this week I will bring you just a few examples of the trend. In addition to drivers using iRacing to transition to the real thing, I bring you a comparison of a real-life Mercedes AMG GT4 to the same...

Sim Racing Gives You a Platform to Raise Your Racing Skills

This week you will learn how sim racing gives you a platform to raise your racing skills no matter where you live. Whether you hail from Scotland like Lucas Blakeley, New Zealand like Ryan Wood, the United States like Josh Berry, or South Africa like Setshaba Mashigo,...

First Sim H Shifter with Software Based Gate Locking

First Sim H Shifter with Software Based Gate Locking

The Bash Pro Active H-Shifter is the first active sim racing shifter using a gate locking feature powered by real time in-game telemetry data.  A lockout is when you have a hard time getting it into gear or cannot get it to gear without using force. This happens when...

What Sim Racer Academy members are saying…

“A little something for everyone.” How many times have you heard that and wondered, maybe they meant “everyone else”? Sim Racing Academy (SRA) actually has this. In many sim racing subscriptions, you either have a few videos trying to point you to buying time with instructors, or a bunch of videos but if you didn’t understand them – too bad.

SRA seems to not only have instructional videos for just about anything you can think of, but also practice drills to break them down and help you make them second nature to your driving. Ross provides personal experiences and insights that go well beyond the basic techniques. You can then test your skills in practice sessions hosted formally by the academy, or informally by members, to run through exercises and discuss the techniques. These are supported by Chalktalks where Ross highlights a particular discipline and encourages you to engage with questions so that the technique can be broken down and explained thoroughly. You are then supported offline through forums and discussion with Ross, SRA staff, and other members on Discord to cover the latest or bring up your own. If there’s something you’re just not getting, you can arrange time for a one-on-one with SRA staff to sort out the challenge.

Rather than a little, it’s quite a LOT of something, and truly for everyone. The material goes well beyond a few videos of hot laps and “git gud” sound bites. It is presented by someone who not only understands racing, but can also explain it to beginners and aliens alike. Join the community, learn the speed secrets.

Doug Thom

Having been a motorsports fan for many years, it was only at the start of 2020 that I first took up sim racing. It quickly became apparent that my perceived skill level was a long way off my actual skill level. After months and months of roaming the internet and soaking up all I could find in relation to performance and race driving, my times on the virtual track slowly began to improve. However, this progression quickly plateaued, and I was on the verge of throwing the towel in and conceding that I was much better off sticking to being a spectator.

Then I discovered the Speed Secrets Sim Racer Academy (SRA) from listening to Ross Bentley’s Speed Secrets podcast, in which he and his team discussed the launch of the SRA. After looking it over and joining up for a monthly subscription that costs less than that of an iRacing subscription, my sim racing journey took off. I found that all the information on the theory of race driving was presented and explained to make it extremely easy to understand and take in, along with accompanying videos that demonstrate the various techniques and theory clearly and concisely. Not only this, but the access to some of the best coaches around the world, and Ross Bentley, himself is invaluable in terms of learning and understanding.

My times and racecraft really started to accelerate, though, through the weekly training sessions that the SRA team held. In these sessions, I got direct coaching from the SRA team on what I was doing well and, most importantly, the areas I needed to improve on and how to do it. This, coupled with the SRA community also, which has a depth of people ranging from complete novices to some of the best/most experienced sim racers and real-life racers out there, gave me the tools I needed to make real progress. I can safely and honestly say that within the six months I have been an SRA member, my times and racecraft have improved 5x as much as they had done the previous 18 months of trying to figure it out myself. I find that I now have the confidence to enter into leagues and be competitive, whereas before, I was worried about having to move out of the way every five laps due to being blue flagged (lapped).

I honestly have a lot to thank the SRA, its team, and community members for in terms of it really helping me understand and progress forward as a sim racer and giving me the confidence that I can continue to improve and eventually start winning races. What the SRA and its community offer is a one-stop-shop for everything relating to sim racing, whether that be the practice sessions with some of the best coaches around, theory on racing and car dynamics, sim racing kit and equipment knowledge, and the opportunity to speak and make friends with like-minded individuals all over the world. All this for a heck of a lot less than what it costs for a 40-minute private session from many of the other sim coaching platforms out there. I truly do owe the vast majority of my progression to the SRA, and I genuinely look forward to seeing where I will progress within the next six months.

Michael Jones

Join the Sim Racer Academy team… become a member & take your sim racing to the next level.

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